915 research outputs found

    Development and integration of environmental evaluation tools for the ecodesign of sustainable processes and products

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    Industry is recognized as one of the main sources of environmental pollution and resource depletion, both causing environmental degradation; nonetheless, its contribution to development and wealth creation is also acknowledged. Therefore, the identification of sustainable options in this area is a key factor. Nowadays, the attitude towards pollution prevention and control and cleaner production is not just a response to emerging environmental laws and regulations (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals -REACH-, Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control –IPPC- Law, Integrated Product Policy –IPP-), but also a matter of corporate responsibility. Further, it has proved to be a way to increase profits. The sustainability definition has received certain criticism for its vagueness, ambiguity and difficulty to translate this concept at different levels. To overcome the difficulties of its implementation, a wide variety of indicators have been developed and applied over the years, providing metrics essential at the action level. This thesis poses a contribution to the development of environmental evaluation tools adapted to particular production sectors, aiming at providing metrics to guide decision making for the ecodesign of sustainable processes and products. Integrative frameworks that combine methodologies of different nature were proposed as the most suitable way to achieve comprehensive evaluations. At the same time, the simplicity of tools was pursued to make its application easier and more attractive for enterprises, avoiding the need of in depth training

    Multi-level processes of integration and disintegration. Proceedings of the Third Green Week Scientific Conference

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    CONTENTS: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... I; ABOUT THE MACE PROJECT... III; PLENARY PRESENTATION ... 1; Landscape agroecology: Managing interactions between agriculture, nature and socio-economy... 3, Tommy Dalgaard; DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES IN RURAL AREAS ... 13; Patterns of rural development in mountainous areas of the Mediterranean: Between innovation and tradition ... 15, Angela Guarino; Agro ecology: Hypothesis for a sustainable local development?... 22, Silvia Doneddu; The farmers' early retirement scheme as an instrument of structural changes in the rural areas after Poland's accession to the EU ... 29, Michal Dudek; FOOD MARKETS AND AGRICULTURAL MARKETING... 37; G/Local brand challenges in the Austrian agricultural food market ... 39, Bernadette Frech, Ana Azevedo, Hildegard Liebl; Willingness of food industry companies to co-finance collective agricultural marketing actions... 48, Anikó Tóth, Csaba Forgács; MULTIFUNCTIONAL AGRICULTURE ... 57; The role of multifunctional agriculture for rural development in Bulgaria... 59, Violeta Dirimanova; A methodological review of multifunctional agriculture ... 66, Concettina Guarino, Francesco Di Iacovo; A spatially explicit decision-making support tool for integral rural development ... 75, Catherine Pfeifer, Jetse Stoorvogel; AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION AND NETWORKS IN RURAL AREAS... 89; Feasibility and implementation strategies of dairy extension in Ulaanbaatar/Mongolia... 91, Baast Erdenebolor, Volker Hoffmann; The relevance of social networks for the implementation of the LEADER programme in Romania ... 99, Doris Marquardt, Gertrud Buchenrieder, Judith Möllers; Quality assessment problems of agricultural advisory centres' services... 113, Gunta Grinberga; INTEGRATION PROCESSES INTO INTERNATIONAL MARKETS... 125; Competition or market power in the Ukrainian meat supply chain? ... 127, Andriy Matyukha, Oleksandr Perekhozhuk; Integration of the Hungarian cereal market into EU 15 markets ... 138, Attila Jambor; Regional specialisation of agriculture and competitive advantages of East-European countries... 146, Oleksandr Zhemoyda, Stephan J. Goetz; GOVERNANCE AND USE OF NATURAL RESOURCES ... 155; An analysis of biodiversity governance in the Kiskunság National Park according to the GoverNat Framework... 157, Cordula Mertens, Eszter Kelemen, György Pataki; Hierarchical network modelling and multicriteria analysis for agri-environmental measures in Poland ... 168, Jadwiga Ziolkowska; Assessing rural livelihood development strategies combining socioeconomic and spatial methodologies ... 179, K.C. Krishna Bahadur; SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL LAND USE... 189; Linking economic and energy modelling with environmental assessment when modelling the on-farm implementation of Anaerobic Digestion ... 191, Andreas Muskolus, Andrew M. Salter, Philip J. Jones; Phytoremediation of a heavy metal-contaminated agricultural area combined with energy production. Multifunctional use of energy maize, rapeseed and short rotation crops in the Campine (BE)... 200, Nele Witters, Stijn Van Slycken, Erik Meers, Kristin Adriaensen, Linda Meiresonne, Filip Tack, Theo Thewys, Jaco Vangronsveld --

    Environmental sustainability in the mining sector: evidence from Catalan companies

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    This paper examines the adoption of environmental practices in small and medium sized companies inthe surface mining industry in Catalonia (Spain). To fulfill this aim, a survey of 41 items concernint environmental management systems and environmentally sustainable practices has been conducted. Results show that companies have committed themselves to environmental and sustainable issues. The majority of companies claim to understand the effects of their activities on the environment and they care for responsible access and management of natural resources. Restoration plans and the annual waste declaration are mandatory in Catalonia, and rational resources exploitation practices have been adopted by a high percentage of mines. Finally, some examples of good environmentally sustainable practices are introduced.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author’s final draft

    エコ産業団地と循環経済型産業の評価指標システムの開発と総合評価

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    Circulation economy is the inevitable choice of industrialization because of improving the economic efficiency and reducing resource consumption, can fundamentally solve the contradiction between economic growth and environmental protection. The general evaluation of circular economy can be conducted from city level, industrial-park level, and enterprise level. However, the researches on the enterprise level and industrial park level are relatively few, and a unified standard system framework is not yet to be formed. In this study, the circular economy was evaluated for enterprises and eco-industrial parks. The AHP method and the expert consultation questionnaire method are used to establish their respective evaluation index systems and the weights of each index. An eco-industrial park (TEDA) and an enterprise (Tianjin SDIC power plant) as the example, their circular economy levels were conducted the comprehensive evaluation respectively according to established evaluation index systems. The results show that the established evaluation index systems have a good performance.北九州市立大

    Study on environmental risk assessment of oil spill accidents in Shanghai Port

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    A Balance between Ideals and Reality — Establishing and Evaluating a Resilient City Indicator System for Central Chinese Cities

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    Recent years have seen a gradual shift in focus of international policies from a national and regional perspective to that of cities, a shift which is closely related to the rapid urbanization of developing countries. As revealed in the 2011 Revision of the World Urbanization Prospects published by the United Nations, 51% of the global population (approximately 3.6 billion people) lives in cities. The report predicts that by 2050, the world’s urban population will increase by 2.3 billion, making up 68% of the population. The growth of urbanization in the next few decades is expected to primarily come from developing countries, one third of which will be in China and India. With rapid urbanization and the ongoing growth of mega cities, cities must become increasingly resilient and intelligent to cope with numerous challenges and crises like droughts and floods arising from extreme climate, destruction brought by severe natural disasters, and aggregated social contradictions resulting from economic crises. All cities face the urban development dynamics and uncertainties arising from these problems. Under such circumstances, cities are considered the critical path from crisis to prosperity, so scholars and organizations have proposed the construction of “resilient cities.” On the one hand, this theory emphasizes cities’ defenses and buffering capacity against disasters, crises and uncertainties, as well as recovery after destruction; on the other hand, it highlights the learning capacity of urban systems, identification of opportunities amid challenges, and maintenance of development vitality. Some scholars even believe that urban resilience is a powerful supplement to sustainable development. Hence, resilience assessment has become the latest and most important perspective for evaluating the development and crisis defense capacity of cities. Rather than a general abstract concept, urban resilience is a comprehensive measurement of a city’s level of development. The dynamic development of problems is reflected through quantitative indicators and appraisal systems not only from the perspective of academic research, but also governmental policy, so as to scientifically guide development, and measure and compare cities’ development levels. Although international scholars have proposed quantitative methods for urban resilience assessment, they are however insufficiently systematic and regionally adaptive for China’s current urban development needs. On the basis of comparative study on European and North American resilient city theories, therefore, this paper puts forwards a theoretical framework for resilient city systems consistent with China’s national conditions in light of economic development pressure, natural resource depletion, pollution, and other salient development crises in China. The key factors influencing urban resilience are taken into full consideration; expert appraisal is conducted based on the Delphi Method and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to design an extensible and updatable resilient city evaluation system which is sufficiently systematic, geographically adaptable, and sustainable for China’s current urban development needs. Finally, Changsha is taken as the main case for empirical study on comprehensive evaluation of similar cities in Central China to improve the indicator system

    Industrial sustainability performance measurement systems: A novel framework

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    © 2019 Elsevier Ltd Improved sustainability of industrial activities and measurement of its performance are becoming prime topics of discussion among policy-makers and industrial decision-makers. The current literature proposes a number of performance measurement systems and related indicators, but mainly lacks a real capability to address all sustainability pillars and their intersections, as well as scalability to firms of different sizes, availability of internal resources, and maturity over sustainability issues, suggesting that further research is needed in this area. Building on the literature, our work develops a new framework for the evaluation of industrial sustainability performance, proposing three different Industrial Sustainability Performance Measurement Systems (ISPMSs), with a decreasing number of indicators suitable in different contexts of application. In the framework, selection mechanisms have been conceived and used to reduce the number of indicators considered, while still guaranteeing complete and adequate coverage of all sustainability pillars, as well as their intersections. The framework has been tested through semi-structured case studies in heterogeneous Northern Italian manufacturing firms. The preliminary results are sound as the different ISPMSs proved to be complete, useful, and easy to use. The proposed ISPMSs provide industrial decision-makers with a scalable framework applicable in different contexts, allowing benchmarking and development of specific implementation strategies for increased sustainability, and provide policy-makers with a framework to develop a more effective regulatory policy, better understanding how sustainability performance can be addressed in an integrated manner across industrial firms

    Sustainability Assessment of Post-Mining Land Use Planning

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    Mining, by its nature, provides enormous investment to the mining nations and by extension contributes to the socio-economic development of the host communities. Where these communities exist, they remain a cause of concern since they are predominantly dependent on the economic opportunities generated by the mine. The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) functions in mining are somewhat of a risk reduction activity, even though the potential of halting projects is comparatively rare in situations where proposals are deemed to be of national interest and politically significant. This study highlights the environmental and socio-economic impact of lack of land use planning in host communities where the phenomenon of mine closure is a lived reality and evaluates alternative post-mining land use. In this study a case study, qualitative research approach is used to comparatively evaluate three mining EIA reports (EIA on the extension of mining operations at the Vlakvarkfontein Coal Mine; consolidation of high extraction mining impacts in the Trichardtsfontein; and rail loop, road diversion and pipeline project associated with Temo Coal) on the extent of post-mine land use consideration in the EIA process. Furthermore, the study, inter alia, assessed the extent to which the interested and affected parties' input was considered in EIA reports. In rehabilitation, the applicant is only reinstating the area, as closely as possible, to that which existed pre-mining, and should not be confused as post-mining land use. There is nothing new in providing for rehabilitation in EIA – it is a standard practice. However, the mining EIA reports extensively covered the environmental components, particularly the specialist studies, as they assessed whether projects conformed with the regulatory requirements. The emphasis of the mining EIA reports was mainly on the environmental component with – other than employment and economic benefits – no post-mining land use and socio-economic impact indicators. These trends were found to be further reinforced when the input of the interested and affected parties (I&APs) was analysed. In view of the findings of this study, the main recommendations to improve the EIA systems would be to clarify and simplify the mandates of the several institutions involved in the EIA process and system; and to improve and increase public access to EIA reports, including electronic means. This is pertinent due to the conspicuous absence of EIA reports in the public domain, which contributed to the limited number of EIA reports that were reviewed in this dissertation. In addition, public participation processes (PPP) should be conducted in most common languages of the stakeholders; and specialist social impact assessment should go beyond the traditional socio-economic issues faced by I&APs to include post-mining land use, as well as sustainable post-mining economy

    Multi-Objective and Multi-Attribute Optimisation for Sustainable Development Decision Aiding

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    Optimization is considered as a decision-making process for getting the most out of available resources for the best attainable results. Many real-world problems are multi-objective or multi-attribute problems that naturally involve several competing objectives that need to be optimized simultaneously, while respecting some constraints or involving selection among feasible discrete alternatives. In this Reprint of the Special Issue, 19 research papers co-authored by 88 researchers from 14 different countries explore aspects of multi-objective or multi-attribute modeling and optimization in crisp or uncertain environments by suggesting multiple-attribute decision-making (MADM) and multi-objective decision-making (MODM) approaches. The papers elaborate upon the approaches of state-of-the-art case studies in selected areas of applications related to sustainable development decision aiding in engineering and management, including construction, transportation, infrastructure development, production, and organization management

    Assessing the Application-Specific Substitutability of Lithium-Ion Battery Cathode Chemistries Based on Material Criticality, Performance, and Price

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    The material use of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is widely discussed in public and scientific discourse. Cathodes of state-of-the-art LIBs are partially comprised of high-priced raw materials mined under alarming ecological and social circumstances. Moreover, battery manufacturers are searching for cathode chemistries that represent a trade-off between low costs and an acceptable material criticality of the comprised elements while fulfilling the performance requirements for the respective application of the LIB. This article provides an assessment of the substitutability of common LIB cathode chemistries (NMC 111, −532, −622, −811, NCA 3%, −9%, LMO, LFP, and LCO) for five major fields of application (traction batteries, stationary energy storage systems, consumer electronics, power-/garden tools, and domestic appliances). Therefore, we provide a tailored methodology for evaluating the substitutability of products or components and critically reflect on the results. Outcomes show that LFP is the preferable cathode chemistry while LCO obtains the worst rating for all fields of application under the assumptions made (as well as the weighting of the considered categories derived from an expert survey). The ranking based on the substitutability score of the other cathode chemistries varies per field of application. NMC 532, −811, −111, and LMO are named recommendable types of cathodes
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